The injury may even force him out of the second Melbourne derby with the Victory on December 11.

Skoko's injury has been compounded by the fact the central midfielder partner Wayne Srhoj will miss the next two matches after accumulating eight yellow cards.

However, Heart coach John van 't Schip is confident he has the players to fill the void.

"We'll miss maybe one or two (players) next game but we'll get one or two back," van `t Schip said.

"I think the squad is growing in strength so we have enough to deal with players that maybe are missing one or two games.

"That (depth) will make us strong as a team."

Matt Thompson should slot straight back into central midfield after missing last week with suspension and spending the last month or so in defence but Simon Colosimo's return to form in the scoreless draw with Sydney FC will allow him to retain his centre-back position.